Rack mount happy time??

Alright fellow motor-bicyclists :) I have been lurking in my workshop and after offering up my Gen II HT engine in every configuration possible around a bicycle frame and generally terrifying myself with the sheer quantity of special brackets, mountings and countershafts that I would need to make I came to realise that I'm barking up the wrong tree.

I have a need for a motor-bicycle that is comfortable to ride in a long skirt; is easy to get on and off; and won't be a nightmare to try and keep on the road. In the long run it would be much better to mount the HT engine as was intended by its designers and thereby avoid much bad language and needless piles of metal shavings.
Only how do I ride it? After much examining of my archives I dug out these old French postcards..... (NO! - they aren't those sort of postcards :mad:)

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/velomobil-mg01.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/velomobil-mg02.jpg

Yes I know these are quads, but it's pretty plain that they are a vintage semi-recumbent that has the all essential Gent's bike frame as a part of their construction. If I was to construct just one half of the quad using a certain slightly damaged Raleigh frame I have as a basis I'm sure I would end up with a very nice and useful motor-bicycle :D
With great care in parts choice and a certain amount of cunning paintwork I'm sure I would end up with something very much 1920s looking. I would need to construct a cylindrical petrol tank and make various faux ancient brass fittings, but I don't mind that at all. It was the thought of trying to construct piles of structual steel parts to mount a HT engine upside down that was terrifying me. And as a traction-avant motor-bicycle it would have been a fright to steer as well due to the pendulum effect! :eek:
Now I know what I'm going to build I can proceed (important that). Watch for updates.
 
Got nuffing against Robins, - it's just that I don't want to use one for this motor-bicycle.

14122006111754Robin%20snow%202.JPG
 

Sorry about the thread hijack
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Yes I have wondered about culottes. There is much discussion amongst the plain and modest community of women as to whether culottes are 'proper' female clothing. I think they are IMHO, but they are not easy to sew and I'm not an especially skillful needlewoman as yet. They also take acres of cloth to make which is a little challenging for me.

Just as an aside note, - it isn't possible to turn the cylinder barrel around on a Gen II HT engine due to the asymetrical shape of the transfer ports. A somewhat annoying fact, but there you are and I suppose I shall just have to put up with it. :rolleyes:
 
Foot throttle GEBE & sewing lessons...

Sorry about the thread hijack
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Yes I have wondered about culottes. There is much discussion amongst the plain and modest community of women as to whether culottes are 'proper' female clothing. I think they are IMHO, but they are not easy to sew and I'm not an especially skillful needlewoman as yet. They also take acres of cloth to make which is a little challenging for me.

Just as an aside note, - it isn't possible to turn the cylinder barrel around on a Gen II HT engine due to the asymetrical shape of the transfer ports. A somewhat annoying fact, but there you are and I suppose I shall just have to put up with it. :rolleyes:

Hey sianelle,

I think i am missing something (not to mention alot of the things I wear - arent exactly classically feminine lol).. I am sooo not gonna mention my attempts at needlework here (I can manage to use a needle as part of the method for boiling an egg lmao..)

If the transfer ports are assync type (schnuerle) and its a flat piston engine (ie it doesnt use a piston porting system) then if you turn the barrel round 180 degrees with the mounts and such it should work fine - unless you mean the porting between the crankcase and the barrel...?

New Jemma research project - foot throttle Golden Eagle set up :). The problem with the bike I have at the moment is that using the pedals as foot pegs is uncomfortable so I am going to fit up some a handle accesory bar as a set of footpegs - then moving the throttle down to the bottom frame bar.. if it works I will post it :). There is also the advantage that I will be able to use my left arm for hand signals...

Sianelle, if you havent already seen the thread I am planning a ride around america with my partners sister - I have some promises on parts and money so far - will have to see what happens...

hope you are ok and you have managed to salvage some of the plants :(

Jemma xx
 
Yes it's the transfer ports between the crankcase and the cylinder barrel that's the problem Jemma. They are shaped in such a way that they simply won't line up with the barrel turned 180 deg.

Don't worry Jemma I am a very slow and hesitant needlewoman. I managed to make myself a nice Summer blouse earlier this year and spent so much time working on it that it was well into Autumn before I finished it :rolleyes:

Wow, - your 8000 mile ride sounds amazing. What a wonderful project! I won't be able to do much except offer prayers and moral support for your enterprise which is something, but I wish I could do more.
 
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